偷梁换柱 tōu liáng huàn zhù

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to steal a rafter and replace it with a column
  2. to replace the original with a fake
  3. to perpetrate a fraud (idiom)

CHARACTERS

偷 tōu
HSK 5
to steal, burglar, thief
梁 liáng
HSK 6
bridge; beam; rafters; surname
换 huàn
HSK 3
change
柱 zhù
HSK 6
pillar, post; support; lean on